Electric fire-alarm apparatus.



ANQMM. Mmmm Am. m5 1905..

' A @Ummm IELEOTRAG HRH ALARM APPARATUS.

APPLICATION mman MA. nu. 1m.

f ff @QW U4 EUGENE FULLER, OF ARCTIC CENTER, RHUDE ISLAND.

iro. ver/,aca

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. l5, 1905.

Application filed January 28, 1905` Serial No. 2li-3,125.

Be it known that l, EUGnNn FULLnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at rlirctic Center, in the county o'lI Kent and State of Rhode island, have invented new and useful lmprovements in Electric Fire-Alarm Apparatus, 0l" which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to electric ire-aiarm apparatus, and its novelty, utility, and practical advantages will be fully understood Ylrom the tollowing description and claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming part ot this specilication, in which tbe figure is a view illustrating' in perspective and diagralninatically the apparatus constituting' the present and preferred embodiment ot my invention.

Referring by letter to the said drawing. A is a support, preferably a board, designed to carry certain of the elements oi" my apparatus which are to be located at the central station of a hre-alarm system.

l B are contact-pieces suitably supported on the board A and arranged in a normally open electric circuit C, together with a source of electric energy l) and an incandescent lamp E or other suitable annunciator. The said contact-pieces B are preferably of the construction illustrated---vl a., respectively comprise spring portions (t, the upper ends of which diverge, as illustrated, for a purpose presently set forth.

l? F are electromagnets also mounted on the board A and disposed above the contactpieces B, and Gr is an armature, preferably a swinging armature, disposed and movable vertically between the contact-pieces and the electromagnets and havingl knives or bars l), arranged to seat in the contact-iiiieces. The contact-pieces B in practice are made sul'liciently strong to hold the armature (uiagainst the power of the current supplied to the electromagnets F, this with a view of precluding the current being casually cut oli' trom the annuneiator E after the annunciator has been made active to apprise those in interest of a lire-alarm, as will be presently more iully described.

The electromagnets F are arranged in a normally closed circuit H, together with a source of electric energy i and one or more switches J, the said switches being' designed to be arranged in lire-alarm boxes or at alarmstations.

lBy virtue of the construction thus tar described it will be apparent that with the parts in the positions illustrated a person desiring to turn in an alarm has simplyT to move the lever oi the switch .l troni the position shown in 'full lines to that shown in dotted lines, since when this is done the electromagnets F will be disenergized, thereby releasing the a1'- inature (i, the bars ol2 which will tall into the contactpieces l5 and by so doingwill close the electric circuit U and malte active the lamp or other annunciator E. The switch J is designed to be closed immediately aiter the sending in ol an alarm; but this will not operate to break the electric circuit (i and extinguish the lamp E, for the reason that the spring contact-pieces B will hold the armature against the pull exerted by the energizetion oi the magnets l?, as before mentioned. From this it follows that after the lamp E is madeactive to indicate a lire-alarm the armature G must be raised by hand or by eXtraneous means in order to `break the electric circuit t) and extinguish the said lamp.

The armature (i may be returned to theposition illustrated to break the electric circuit C by a person located at the lire-alarm box or at any other remote point through the nnedium of a switch lil, an auxiliary circuit la, and certain devices aplnirtenant to said circuit, and may also be returned to the position illustrated at a predetermined time through the medium of a clock lli/l, arranged in a second auxiliary circuit N, together with the appurtenant devices mentioned. ln addition to the switch l, the auxiliarycircuit la includes a source olt electric energy l?, while in addition to the clock M the auxiliary circuit N includes a source ol? electric energy Q. rlhe appurtenant devices mentioned are electromagnets lt, an armature S, and a cable T, passed over a sheave U and connecting the upper end ot the armature ti and the outer end ot' the armature G complementary to the electrouiagnets l?. By virtue oi this construction it will be observed that when the switch l( el" the auxiliary circuit L is closed current will pass 'troni one pole of the source ot electric energy P through the electromagnets lt and back to the other pole ol" the source ol energy, and hence the armature E will be attracted to the electromagnets, and the armatrn'e (i will be drawn upwardly out ot engageu'ieut with the contactpieces E and placed under the influence of the electroniagncts F. lnuniaiiately subsequent to the completion olf the auxiliary circuit L and the consequent interruption of the circuit C the circuit L is interrupted by opening the switch K, so as to prevent the armature S from interfering with the gravitation of the armature Gr when another alarm is sent 1n. Y

The auxiliary circuit N and thc appurtenances thereof are utilized when it is desired to interrupt the circuit C and extinguish the lamp E at a predetermined time subsequent to the sending in of afire-alarin. To so utilize the said auxiliary circuit N and the appurtenances thereof, the clocli M is set so that at the predetermined time a contact-piece c, connected to one wire of the circuit, will be moved by the clock mechanism into engagement with acontact-piece CZ, connected electrically with the other wire of the circuit. Tith the said contact made it will be apparent that the auxiliary circuit N will be complete, and the consequent energization of the electromagnets R will operate to attract the armature S and raise the armature G to the position illustrated. It will be gathered from the foregoing` that my novel apparatus is at once simple and inexpensive in construction and reliable in op eration and that it embodies no parts likely to become deranged after a short period of use. I have specifically described the construc tion and relative arrangement of the parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear, and exact understanding of the said embodiment. I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to the said specific construction and relative arrangement of parts, as such changes or modifications may be made in practice as fairly fall within the scope of my invention as claimed. VHaving described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an electric lire-alarm apparatus, the combination of a normally closed electric circuit, means whereby said circuit may be opened, a normally open electric circuit containing an annunciator, means for closing the second-mentioned circuit when the lirst-mcntioned circuit is opened, a normally open electric circuit containing an electromagnet, an armature controlled by the electromagnet and connected with and arranged to return to its normal position the means for closing the second-mentioned circuit when the lirst-nientioned circuit is opened, and a clock for closing the circuit in which the last-mentioned magnet is arranged at a predetermined time.

2. In an electric firealarm apparatus, the combination of a normally closed electric circuit, means for opening and closing said circuit, a normally open electric circuit containing an annunciator, means for closing the second-mentioned circuit when the first-mentioned circuit is opened, a normally open, auxiliary electric circuit, means for closing the auxiliary circuit, and means operated by the closing of the auxiliary circuit for returning the means for closing the second-mentioned circuit when the first-mentioned circuit is opened to its normal position.

3. In an electric fire-alarm apparatus, the combination of an electromagnet arranged in a normally closed electric circuit, means whereby said circuit may be opened, an annunciator and a contact-piece arranged in a normally open electric circuit, an armature movable between the electromagnet and the contact-piece and arranged when in engagement with the latter to complete the secondmentioned circuit, an electromagnet arranged in a normally open auxiliary electric circuit, a clock for closing said auxiliary circuit at a predetermined time, and an armature complementary to the second-mentioned electromagnet and mechanically connected with the iirst-mentioned armature.

fi. In an electric lire-alarm apparatus, the combination of an electromag'net arranged in a normally closed electric circuit, means whereby said circuit may be opened and closed, an annunciator and a contact-piece arranged in a normally open electric circuit, an armature movable between the electromagnet and the contact-piece and arranged when in engagement with the latter to complete the second-mentioned circuit, an electromagnet arranged in a normally open auxiliary electric circuit, means for closing said circuit, an armature complementary to the second-men-V tioned electromagnet, a sheave, and a cable passed over the slieave and connecting the two armatures. Y

.In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EUGENE FULLER.

lVitnesses:

EDGAR L. SPAULDING, Guo. IV. SPAULDING. 

